35. A Distraction I Don't Need

Joel

I sat on the hill, overlooking Bournville territory. The sun was getting low in the sky signalling that there was only about an hour of daylight left.

Still I couldn't bring myself to move.

It seemed so long ago that I left here. A whole lifetime ago, yet actually it was just a little over two years.

I knew I missed my home and everyone in it, but I didn't realise how much until I was finally here. Once I saw my home, and the route I had taken out of it that fateful night, my whole body went into shut down. My legs turned to jelly, and my chest ached like someone was squeezing the life out of me.

I had been sat on this hill ever since.

The members of FLOW thought I was coming here today to do a final recon mission before the big day tomorrow. Sebastian thought I was here to make sure that Casper and Nathan had got everything in place as planned. Actually, I had come today because I knew that seeing this place for the first time in two years was going to be incredibly hard. And I had to get that out of the way today so I could focus on the job at hand tomorrow.

Thank goodness I did.

I slowly forced myself to get back onto my feet and I trudged my way down the small hill and across the field that would finally take me back home.

The boundary of Blackwood manor had been reinforced as was to be expected, but just as planned there were some weak spots which, with just a bit of agility, I was able to get through without too much trouble.

I'd informed FLOW where the best places were to get into Blackwood Manor, so of course these were the points that Casper and Nathan were expecting the attack from.

I slowly made my way through the woodland, sticking close to the boundary. Casper should have been informed that I was here this evening so I wasn't expecting to see anyone. I just hoped that Casper wasn't anywhere around.

From what Cole had told me, he was still unaware of who I actually was, and I wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible.

Don't get me wrong, I'd thought loads about what it would be like to finally see him again. Sometimes I imagined that it would just be like the old days. We'd laugh together, and make fun of one another, and be just as close as we once were. And then sometimes I would worry that he wouldn't want to see me again, and I would remember the harsh words he said the last time we spoke.

I want you to be gone by the time I get back......I don't want to have to see you ever again.

I was gone. And as far as he was concerned I had never come back. Perhaps he was pleased about that. Perhaps he was happy that I had finally followed one of his orders without question.

I was suddenly dragged out of my thoughts by the noise of rustling branches, not too far away.

I froze, my senses switching on to full alert. Thankfully I was upwind from the noise so I was at an advantage.

Chances are it was one of the guards doing a final patrol, but I needed to be careful as they might not know who I was and may attack. Equally they might figure out exactly who I was and still attack.

I crept closer and closer to where I heard the noise coming from. The closer I got, the more I could hear. There were voices. Two of them.

Another couple of minutes of slowly creeping forwards and I began to make out what they were saying,

"Hurry up, will you!"

"So sorry your highness, but climbing the tree is kind of slowing me down!"

"I swear to everything holy, that I'm going to kick your arse when I get out of here!"

"Careful, I could just leave you here you know."

"Please Mark, please hurry, I can't feel my left butt cheek!"

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop me from laughing at the sight before me.

Lyla had managed to step into one of the traps set up to catch the hunters, and she was now suspended about 15 foot in the air in a net. Mark was hanging out of the tree, currently trying to cut her free using what looked like a bottle opener.

A warmth spread through my body at the sight of my two best friends, still getting up to trouble as always.

Mark looked like he had filled out a bit, and he had let his hair grow out, just like Lyla always nagged him too.

It was quite difficult to see how Lyla looked, seen as she was practically curled up into a ball inside the netting, but it just felt so good to see them again.

There was a sudden snapping sound, and Lyla and the net plummeted to the floor, landing with a thump.

"Uuurrgghh!" groaned Lyla in a heap on the floor.

Mark quickly shimmied down the tree and ran over to help Lyla to free herself from the net.

His level of care surprised me. Everytime I had seen Lyla fall, usually from some poorly constructed tree swing that Mark persuaded her to try, I had never once seen him go and help her up.

A mischievous thought flashed through my mind, and I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out the ski mask that FLOW gave out as 'essential equipment'. I quickly popped it on, then stepped out from my hiding place.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" I said, in a lower tone than I would usually use.

Mark and Lyla froze on the spot, then slowly turned their heads to face me.

Lyla's eyes widened and her jaw dropped open.

I wondered whether her reaction would have been exactly the same if I had just stepped out with no mask on.

Mark on the other hand immediately took on a defensive pose. I was pleased to see that the message must have got around about not changing into their wolves in front of the hunters.

"I don't think you should be here," Mark said in an authoritative tone, "this is private land."

I admired his calmness.

"Well that's a matter of opinion," I replied. "I don't think that animals have the right to own any land."

I saw Lyla wince at my words but Mark showed no emotion.

"Lyla, go," he ordered calmly.

Lyla's head snapped round to face Mark.

"No!"

"Lyla, go!"

"No Mark I will not 'go'!"

"I'm not asking Lyla, I'm telling you!"

By now Mark and Lyla were facing each other having a full on row, like I wasn't even standing there.

"Lyla, I swear to god if you don't get your backside out of here now, I'm not responsible for what happens."

"No Mark, I'm not leaving you with that psycho!"

I pulled my ski mask off, shaking my head in amazement at these two.

"Do you not think I can handle myself? Is that what it is?" Mark growled.

"I could say the same thing? Why do I have to go? Why can't I help?"

I coughed.

"Because you're a distraction I don't need!"

"A DISTRACTION??!!"

"Guys..." I tried again.

"You know what I mean, don't twist my words."

"Oh no, I think I've heard enough. I know what..."

"FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY WILL THE PAIR OF YOU JUST SHUT UP!!!!"

The two of them snapped their heads round to face me for the second time that evening. And yes, Lyla's eyes widened and her jaw dropped just like last time.

"J-Joel?" Lyla spluttered out.

I couldn't help the huge smile that plastered itself across my face.

"Joel?" Lyla said again, but with more confidence this time.

Lyla strode towards me, her face still one of partial disbelief.

I held my arms open wide for her.

"Oooff," I said as she smacked me roughly around the head.

"That's for scaring me you idiot!"

And then she flung her arms around me, squeezing me in a bone crushing hug.

Only a few seconds later I felt a second pair of arms circle round me from behind, and before I knew it I was the centre of a Lyla and Mark sandwich.

I closed my eyes in pure bliss of a few seconds before I realised that Lyla was shaking in my arms.

I looked down to see her sobbing into my chest.

"Hey, hey," I said gently while stroking her hair, "It's ok, everything's ok. I'm here now."

Mark let go of me and came and prized Lyla off me and into his own arms, and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he kissed the top of her head and whispered soothing things into her ears.

"Um, am I missing something here?" I asked.

Lyla finally brought her face out of Mark's chest and smiled.

"We're mates," she said, while Mark continued to stroke her head.

"Wow, you're kidding?!" I said in shock. It was very rare for childhood friends to turn out to be mates, but I was pleased for them. Pleased and slightly jealous.

"Nope," said Mark, "as soon as Lyla turned 18 it was like someone had flicked on a switch, and I couldn't stay away from her."

"Wow, tough luck Lyla," I said with a grin on my face.

Lyla glared at me, but the smile never really left her face.

"So what are you doing here and what happened after you left? Come on Joel, you need to tell me everything," Lyla said, moving out of Mark's embrace and pulling me by my hand to a nearby rock where we could sit down.

And so I told them what happened. Well, not all of it. Some things I liked to pretend never really happened. But I told her about my mum, and Cole and Sebastian (although I made sure to leave out certain details), and about my undercover work with FLOW.

"Can we help tomorrow night?" Lyla asked, after I'd briefly gone over the plan.

"No Lyla, we've gone over this," said a rather exasperated Mark.

"Mark seems to suddenly think I'm incapable for some reason," Lyla explained. "As soon as we became mates he's been treating me like I'm made of glass. It's driving me insane!", she said, directing that last bit at Mark.

"It is going to be dangerous," I pointed out, then added, "for both of you," in response to Lyla's glare.

"I'm not scared," she said, folding her arms across her chest.

I looked over at Mark and could see that he was scared. Not for himself, but for his mate.

"Ok, ok, I'm sure that we could use an extra couple of helpers guarding the east wall. Just make sure you stay well hidden, and don't let your wolf out."

I was pretty certain no hunters were coming in by the east wall. Hopefully they would be able to stay out of trouble and yet feel useful at the same time.

Mark glared at me for allowing Lyla to be involved, and so I tried my best to give him a reassuring nod behind Lyla's back. Just like old times, Mark read me perfectly and I saw his body relax.

"So Joel," Lyla said, bringing my attention back to her, "have you found your mate yet?"

I let out a snort of laughter. "Not a chance."

"Hey, don't say that. It wasn't all that long ago that we all thought you had."

I groaned just thinking about the disaster that had occured because we all thought that I was Casper's mate.

"Do you know what's so annoying about it?" I asked, not expecting a response, "It turns out I was actually a year younger than I thought, so I wasn't even old enough to have a mate back then."

"What?!" Lyla and Mark both shouted out at once.

"Yeah, my mum sent the wrong birth certificate with me when I was adopted. She had the right one with her, and I was born a year later."

"So that means you could still be Casper's mate then?" Lyla said, and I could already see the cogs turning in her head.

"No," I replied, "I don't think we're mates. Besides, he mated with Emily."

"Meh," Mark said while screwing up his nose and shrugging his shoulders.

"Meh? What does 'Meh' mean?" I asked, imitating his expression.

Lyla rolled her eyes. "It means they never really bonded."

"What? Why?" I asked in surprise.

"Blackwood Manor had its first attack not long after they got back off honeymoon, and as Emily was pregnant, she moved back home for her safety..."

"Pregnant?" I spluttered out.

"Yeah, didn't you know? She had twins."

"Whoa! I didn't know that."

I smiled at the thought. Sure, the idea of her and Casper having sex still made me shudder, but I was pleased that there was still a part of Emily in the world. That made me feel a little warmer inside.

"So Casper's a dad then," I said, finding that thought a little amusing.

A faint noise in the distance brought me out of my thoughts.

"I better get going," I said, not really wanting to be caught by anyone else.

"Are you coming back home then?" Lyla quickly asked.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure I'd be welcome."

"I think you would. Casper never wanted you gone in the first place."

"Oh yes he did," I said emphatically.

Lyla just shook her head.

"Please, Joel, just try. Maybe talk to Duncan. I'm sure that Casper would let you back in."

"Let's just take one day at a time," I said, shaking my head at her.

She held my gaze for a few seconds, then looked away, signalling that she wasn't going to push it any further.

"Ok, but promise me if you don't stay, that you'll come and say goodbye before you disappear again?"

"That I can promise," I said, throwing my arms around her and giving her a quick squeeze.

"Take care tomorrow," Mark said, holding out his hand to me, before bringing me in for a quick one armed man hug.

"You too," I replied, before giving them one last wave, and walking away, back towards the edge of the territory.

Lyla's words made me think.

Would I be welcomed back here? Would Casper have forgiven me?

I wasn't so sure.

Afterall, Lyla didn't really know anything, did she?